Loved this. Dean is amazing at out of the box stories. I’ve loved everything I’ve read from him! This had be absolutely gripped and nervous!

The Chamber by Will Dean presents an intriguing setup for a locked room mystery, which is a concept I absolutely adore. The scenario of six saturation divers trapped in a hyperbaric chamber with a killer among them has all the makings of a gripping thriller. While the book is certainly well written and features some twists, it ultimately didn’t resonate with me as much as I had hoped.

The tension and claustrophobia of the chamber are effectively conveyed. I appreciate the glossary at the beginning that helps readers navigate the specialized terminology and components of the chamber, a testament to the author’s thorough research. However, the story does get bogged down by several side/ character stories that felt more like distractions than additions to the suspense.

While the central premise is fascinating, the execution didn’t quite live up to its potential, making it a 3 star read for me.

Thank you to the author, Netgalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

Based off the synopsis I should have known this wouldn't be for me, but I age it a shot. I struggled to feel attached to any of the characters and there was a lot of chamber technical jargon that lost me. The writing was good, and the ending was mildly enjoyable. I will say that it would translate well as a movie on a streaming platform.

Saturation divers work in one of the most intense environment: locked inside a hyperbaric chamber for weeks at at time. They have to be mentally and physically strong to surive the hot, humid and cramped environment. When six experienced sat divers go on a job together, things quickly become tense when one of them mysteriously dies. They now have to wait for four days to decompress before they can get out. When another team member dies with no obvious answers, remaining calm and sane remains paramount to their survival.

Will Dean is truly a MASTER of his craft and that craft is psychological thrillers. While reading this story, I could feel the desperation, panic, claustrophobia, and suffocation of all the characters. I wanted to flip the pages so fast to find out what happened next and to rush along the torturously slow decompression. What I love about this story is it kept me guessing and I wasn’t sure I could trust anyone the entire time. If you love a suspenseful read, this one is a MUST.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Will Dean and Atria books for the ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions in my review are honest, voluntary and my own.

I should’ve known that a book about deep sea diving wouldn’t be for me. I had a hard time getting into this book due to all the technical jargon as well as the characters being a bunch of ex military guys. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, just not something I care for as a character backstory. The writing was well done and I didn’t guess the ending… though I did find it anticlimactic. I think this is one of those books I could see as a movie I’d watch with my fiancé but not something I’d personally choose.

Talk about an atmospheric nightmare!!! I don’t like the idea of being in a confined space and this book definitely takes you on a journey!

The story is from the POV of Ellen Brooks who is a saturation diver, and she takes on an assignment with 5 other men to go deep into the sea for one month. The problem starts when one of them ends up dead. Was it an unfortunate accident or was this intentional. Imagine being in a cramped room with 4 other people and you’re not 100% sure if one of them might be responsible for the death of one of your colleagues and you have nowhere to go because you can’t just get pulled back up to the surface because otherwise you will die to the pressure changes.

The story is very detailed in the things that the crew must do each time they eat and shower in order to ensure that bacteria doesn’t grow in what is a very humid space. As the story goes on, we learn a little bit of the past from each of the crew members and you can tell as time goes by that they are starting to mentally break. They must rely on each other to stay safe but at the same time they wonder if they can trust each other.

The author uses a lot of deep diving terminology so that got confusing at times for me however, he does provide a glossary at the beginning of the book that can help.
Overall, I liked the storyline and the atmosphere it took place in. I would have appreciated less of the terminology used and to have it “dumbed down” for me a bit but the story itself was good.

Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books. All opinions are my own.

Mystery and Drama tucked in The Chamber!

My heart was racing and my breathing shallow as I read this novel about six divers in a hyperbaric chamber heading down to the bottom of the ocean floor for a long stay in tight, claustrophobic conditions.
They all know what they are doing and how to avoid panic, right?
AND then.... One diver suddenly is dead, then another.
WHY and from what?
Could it be a leak in the chamber, creating poison? Could it be an outside source? Could it be one of their own who has finally "cracked"?

This is a dramatic, intense story that will truly make you wish you had some oxygen as you open this book!
Thank you to @NetGalley and to @Atria Books for this incredible ARC and allowing me to read and review. WOW!

Thank you so very much for the opportunity to read your book. I really enjoyed it. I read while I watched shark week on tv, so it made it a little more fun I think!! This story definitely had my attention and my heart racing!

I must admit, I felt claustrophobic reading this book; the author did an excellent job describing the life of deep-sea divers and the dangerous work they do, and the even more dangerous conditions they are subjected to. One of the best examples of a locked-room mystery. I only gave the book three stars, because I didn’t really connect with the characters or the story, which stretched out longer than I think it should have. I did learn a lot about a subject I didn’t have any prior knowledge of, ad kudos to the author for his meticulous research.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the ARC and the opportunity to review this Novell

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
Remember the Titanic sub crew that ended up getting killed in 2023 due to the catastrophic implosion? Okay, well this book reminded me of that 🤯 A group of saturation divers embark into a hyperbaric chamber to spend a month beneath the ocean. Once deep enough, they each will take turns being placed in a diving bell which will then take them down to the sea floor in order for them to work on repairing oil pipes. Everything seems to be going smoothly and according to plan, that is until one of the divers is found dead. What caused his death? No one seems to know. Did one of their own kill him, or is the chamber itself leaking poison that resulted in his death? So many questions, and fingers begin to point at everyone.
This book literally takes your breath away, in the best possible way! I am obsessed with everything about this book, from the plot, the writing, the atmospheric and creepy setting, the characters, and the claustrophobic feeling that Dean creates. If your looking for your next hair raising, spine tingling read that causes an intense feeling of paranoia and suffocation than pick this one up NOW! Dean nails it with this book as he builds the suspense and the tension as you read each chapter. Everyone is a suspect, and this book takes you on a wild roller coaster until all is reveled in an explosive ending that left my jaw on the floor. This IS one of the BEST locked room thrillers/mysteries of THE YEAR….there-I said it!🙌🏻 BRAVO, Dean….what a hit this one is going to be!


𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗜𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗘𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆:
✦Locked room thrillers/mysteries
✦Atmospheric writing with a creepy setting
✦A book that grips you in right away and leaves you feeling claustrophobic
✦An immersive ‘whodunit’ that leaves you guessing until the very end
✦A book with so much built up suspense and tension

𝐌𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5/5

Still processing …

Another 5⭐️ read from the brilliant mind of Will Dean!

I’m still sitting here, 12 hours after reading the final page, trying to understand my feelings. I haven’t been able to eat, drink, or sleep. I’ve just been sitting here, claustrophobic.

The Chamber follows a crew of deep sea saturation divers with such great attention to detail that I could probably draw the inside of the chamber from memory. Have I ever heard of SAT divers prior to this book? No. Did it cause me hesitation because there was a crude drawing of the outline of a chamber and vocab words listed before chapter one? Yes. Will I ever forget this book? No.

Will Dean’s writing style is such that I will buy any book he sells. I was blind this whole book, no idea what direction it was going. But I was so enveloped in the process of how the divers acclimate, what their experience is like, how each character was so well developed. The end of the story left me just a baffled. I have questions. But I’m ok with that too. For anyone else who reads this, please message me so I can discuss a few things!!!

The only con in the whole story, and it’s silly, was I was confused on time. Time is such a relevant topic when you’re submerged on the bottom of the ocean, and I’m still not sure how long they spent of the projected 28 days. It bothers me a little, but not enough to rate it less. Maybe I personally missed something. Maybe it’s part of it?

Thank you so much NetGalley, Atria Books, and Will Dean for this amazing ARC. I will never not recommend this book!

I had high hopes for this book, giving the previous books I’ve read. This was such a disappointing book. I was worried from the beginning because there is a glossary. There is a diagram to help you understand what you are fixing to read. I ended up looking at YouTube videos which helped me get a better understanding. Then nothing happens it’s slow. Then when stuff does happen it falls flat. It goes back to more slow moving stories. So I thought ok maybe it will be worth it in the end. Wrong. The ending fell flat and was confusing and it left me saying what did I just read? I will still look forward to his work however this book wasn’t one for me.

I'm devastated at how disappointed I am with this book. Will Dean took top spot as my favorite author after reading The Last One and The Last Thing to Burn. At the beginning of this book, there is a glossary and diagram to help you understand saturation diving, but it was only after I YouTube'd it that I got a good grasp of it all. It was slow and repetitive and I just kept praying for a shark attack or something to happen. Most of it was them sitting around talking. Even when things started to get somewhat exciting, it went flat again almost right away. Not much excitement in this book. I'm also super confused by the ending and am still not exactly sure who is responsible. Hopefully I will enjoy future books by this author, but this was definitely not one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this eARC.

-- 2/5 Stars -- ★★☆☆☆

Trigger Warnings for The Chamber: Locked room, murder, staying in room with corpse, depravation, suicidal thoughts, distrust

The Chamber is a locked room murder mystery novel by Will Dean. We watch the story unfold through the eyes of Ellen Brooke, an experienced female saturation diver. Ellen is joined by Jumbo, Andre, Mike, Spock, and Tea Bag. Almost as quickly as they get to pressure and finish their first dive, tragedy strikes: one of their very own is dead in their bed and it isn't just a natural death. The worst part? These divers need to wait to get out of this chamber until they reach regular pressure.

Let me start by saying this book would have been an easy 1 star if it wasn't for the ending. I was so bored of this book that I wanted to keep reading just to finish it. The first third of this novel is learning all the rules of saturation diving and waiting for something to happen. I think we heard more stories from the divers then we actually had content. This feels like a novel that would have been a fantastic short-story.

All in all, not my favorite. That being said, I love a good ambiguous ending, which is why this novel received another star from me. Thank you to Will Dean, Netgalley and Atria Books for an advanced reader copy of The Chamber in exchange for my honest review.

A locked-in thriller that takes place deep on the sea bed. After the first walk on the sea bed, things begin to happen. One by one, members of the crew begin to drop dead for no apparent reason. Despite taking many precautions, the deaths keep coming. As the journey to land begins, the truth comes to light and it is shocking.

This was a great claustrophobic story. Imagine being stuck in a very small tube on the bottom of the sea with no safe way out. This was a prolonged build-up to a rapid-fire ending that will shock you. It's important to note that all of the characters are unreliable - all of them are under suspicion. Will Dean is a fantastic thriller writer and always keeps me on my toes.

My anxiety reached an all new high reading the “Chamber” by Will Dean. Being submerged in deep waters and unresponsive bodies had me on the edge of my seat. I enjoyed this book as I have all this Author’s other work. READ it for yourself.

Never has a book that's mostly about sitting and waiting for time to pass been so gripping. I'm generally a plot plot plot reader. Who cares about backstory or setting or the protagonist's job (unless it's detective)? But I was fascinated by the world of saturation diving. The plot took a backseat to the way Will Dean wrote about the main character, Ellen, and the world of sat diving. It was claustrophobic, for sure, but readable; I was worried before I started it that it would be too much to handle and it wasn't.

The ending was a little vague - I'm still thinking about it a day later, which is probably what Dean was going for, yet I would have liked more clarity.

First off, what a great book. This isn't like anything I have read before. The setting and the characters were nicely portrayed. The author did a fantastic job of giving all all sorts of background information about being a saturation diver and what everything means. While reading this book I felt as if I was trapped in the hyperbaric chamber myself. Honestly, at times I found myself holding my own breath and breathing very rapidly while they were on the outside at the ocean floor. This novel is full of suspense and moments of doubt. All the way up until the end it had me guessing who was doing it all. Who or what was making these saturation divers die right there in front of everyone in a small space. Don't eat the food, don't drink the water, don't close your eyes or go to bed.

Just reading the description of this book makes me nervous and panicky! This one is a locked-room murder - check it out if you like this style!

I appreciate the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a review.

I really enjoyed this book! I love a locked room mystery, but I feel like many just pale in comparison to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. Well, this one manages to do the genre justice while adding its own unique twists and elements.

The unique setting - inside a tiny pressurized chamber with six saturation divers - contributes to the novelty and overall tension throughout the story. I couldn’t put it down.

There were a few occasions - lengthy dive stories - where the pacing I think dragged a bit. Also I know that this ending is gonna be one I still think about years later!

Thank you NetGalley for an Advance Review Copy of this book.